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Best summer blazer material

Fashion Fan

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Thanks for the tips Archibaldleach, yeah $336 would be perfect along with tailoring costs would put me in the $400ish range which I['m comfortable with. I just also read some things about BB blazers not always being the best quality from the reviews on the site, I know a store exists here in Toronto so I'm going to check them out in person first and report back with my findings. Hopefully if it's as nice as you say it is I'm going to withhold until June or until the $100 off promo. I appreciate your advice again!
 

Fashion Fan

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I'm surprised to see how short the BB jacket is. I expect bum freezers from J Crew, but I thought BB was a bit more conservative.
The Fitzgerald is the more slimmer cut with higher armholes, surprisingly a Milano fit also exists which is slimmer than the Fitzgerald.
 

Fashion Fan

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Can anyone else vouch for the quality of BB blazers or suggest other good summer navy blue blazers?
 
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I think the BB linen/cotton blazer is definitely your best choice. As far as color goes, navy is great because it goes with everything, the only down side is that it is a dark color and tends to keep in the heat more then a light color would. However, I always live by the rule that navy always looks classier then a beige color but also has that casual feel to it as well. Options to dress it up for fancy occasions or dress it down for everyday casual look, are both available.
 

Fashion Fan

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Thanks everyone for their help. I looked into the Fitzergerald blazer more and I called BB to ask where it's made and they told me Thailand. There is no way I'm paying $450+ for a blazer made in Thailand. Can anyone provide me with any other alternatives based on my criteria above?
 

Liquidus

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Thanks everyone for their help. I looked into the Fitzergerald blazer more and I called BB to ask where it's made and they told me Thailand. There is no way I'm paying $450+ for a blazer made in Thailand. Can anyone provide me with any other alternatives based on my criteria above?


Maybe you should evaluate the price based on the actual quality of the blazer rather than where it's made.
 

Fashion Fan

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Maybe you should evaluate the price based on the actual quality of the blazer rather than where it's made.

To be honest I'm not sure what to look for as this is my first blazer. I just associate Thailand with being a haven of fake high end designer goods. Buying a blazer for $450+ and having it made in some sweatshop isn't a good thing either (not that I'm some environemental hippie) just on principal. However you it appears you're very knowledgeable member with alot of good advice so if you can maybe tell me some things to look for in person I'm going to give the BB fitz another chance.
 
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AdamWill

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fashion: Brooks Brothers is sufficiently reputation-based that I think it would be reasonably safe to assume they at least ensure decent quality workmanship even in the stuff they outsource; they're not a high fashion / trend company, their business is their reputation for good quality stuff in a certain style, so it's incumbent on them to maintain the quality. There's no reason perfectly good stuff can't be made in Thailand or China or anywhere else with appropriate management.

If you take the position "I'll only buy stuff from the U.S. / Europe / Canada" (or whatever you define as places with strong labour protection or whatever), then fine, that's a position to be respected. But it seems odd to say - as you seem to be saying - "I'll buy stuff from sweatshop countries, but only if it's cheap". It's not exactly an *ethical* stance, is it? More like "I at least want a cut of the proceeds of mistreating workers" ;) So it'd be a bit easier to know where you're coming from if you'd just say either that you want a good blazer at a fair price, or that you will only buy something made in country XXX, I guess.

I think liquidus is right that, unless you're going to take a hardline "U.S. only" stance, you should go ahead and evaluate the blazer depending on whether you think it's good quality and a good choice for the price, and disregard the country of origin.

FWIW, I bought a decent Lauren summer sport coat yesterday which is made of 63% silk, 37% linen, in a very light open weave, half-lined. I rather like it so far; the silk/linen material seems pretty versatile, it certainly wears cool, it doesn't crease anything like pure linen, and it seems like it can be dressed up or down quite well - it doesn't look like wool, but it doesn't come off as super-casual like an unstructured cotton coat, for instance. It looks fine with a dress shirt and tie. That material blend doesn't seem to be terribly common, though, especially off the rack - this is the first one I recall seeing, and I can't even find it listed on RL's website anywhere (I found it in The Bay here in Canada).
 

Liquidus

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To be honest I'm not sure what to look for as this is my first blazer. I just associate Thailand with being a haven of fake high end designer goods. Buying a blazer for $450+ and having it made in some sweatshop isn't a good thing either (not that I'm some environemental hippie) just on principal. However you it appears you're very knowledgeable member with alot of good advice so if you can maybe tell me some things to look for in person I'm going to give the BB fitz another chance.


I think that if you buy something at BB when it's 25%+ off (get some discounted gift cards and pay with that as well), you can't really go wrong on value. I would check it out in person and see if you like how it fits.
 

Fashion Fan

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fashion: Brooks Brothers is sufficiently reputation-based that I think it would be reasonably safe to assume they at least ensure decent quality workmanship even in the stuff they outsource; they're not a high fashion / trend company, their business is their reputation for good quality stuff in a certain style, so it's incumbent on them to maintain the quality. There's no reason perfectly good stuff can't be made in Thailand or China or anywhere else with appropriate management.

If you take the position "I'll only buy stuff from the U.S. / Europe / Canada" (or whatever you define as places with strong labour protection or whatever), then fine, that's a position to be respected. But it seems odd to say - as you seem to be saying - "I'll buy stuff from sweatshop countries, but only if it's cheap". It's not exactly an *ethical* stance, is it? More like "I at least want a cut of the proceeds of mistreating workers" ;) So it'd be a bit easier to know where you're coming from if you'd just say either that you want a good blazer at a fair price, or that you will only buy something made in country XXX, I guess.

I think liquidus is right that, unless you're going to take a hardline "U.S. only" stance, you should go ahead and evaluate the blazer depending on whether you think it's good quality and a good choice for the price, and disregard the country of origin.

FWIW, I bought a decent Lauren summer sport coat yesterday which is made of 63% silk, 37% linen, in a very light open weave, half-lined. I rather like it so far; the silk/linen material seems pretty versatile, it certainly wears cool, it doesn't crease anything like pure linen, and it seems like it can be dressed up or down quite well - it doesn't look like wool, but it doesn't come off as super-casual like an unstructured cotton coat, for instance. It looks fine with a dress shirt and tie. That material blend doesn't seem to be terribly common, though, especially off the rack - this is the first one I recall seeing, and I can't even find it listed on RL's website anywhere (I found it in The Bay here in Canada).

You made alot of good points. You're completely right I guess I just had a bad association in my mind with Thailand but like you mentioned I should evaluate it in person which I will be doing. Brooks has a 20% off sale tomorrow and the 19th so I'm going to check out the Fitz then. Thanks for the indepth advice again.
 

Fashion Fan

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I think that if you buy something at BB when it's 25%+ off (get some discounted gift cards and pay with that as well), you can't really go wrong on value. I would check it out in person and see if you like how it fits.

Thanks for your help too. Where can I get some of these discounted gift cards?
 

Hiras Fashion

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+1 for linen..It's the best heat conductor and your blazer will look extremely stylish.I would recommend Irish linen where possible as it's a bit heavier so the jacket will drape nicely.

Definitely. You can't go wrong with linen. Keep it cool with a light grey linen blazer instead of your usual charcoal or navy.
 

msulinski

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Definitely. You can't go wrong with linen. Keep it cool with a light grey linen blazer instead of your usual charcoal or navy.

I can't agree that a light gray or charcoal odd jacket is a good versatile choice. Navy is still a better choice.
 

Sanguis Mortuum

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FWIW, I bought a decent Lauren summer sport coat yesterday [...] and I can't even find it listed on RL's website anywhere (I found it in The Bay here in Canada).
You won't find it on their website, the 'Lauren' brand is not even owned by Ralph Lauren, it is licensed by Peerless, the same people who make low-end fashion brands like Michael Kors, Joseph Abboud and, here's the kicker, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection :rotflmao:
 

12BarBlues

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What about Madras? Great summer fabric, not seen it mentioned so far.
 

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